Skateboarding is officially a thing in India

There's a new tribe grinding and flipping around your neighbourhood

On International Go Skateboarding Day this June, 120 skaters from across the country assembled at the Play Arena skate park in Bangalore for a day-long party. With loud music pumping in the background, groms (slang for very young skaters with exceptional skill), amateurs and semi-pro skaters showed off tricks and competed for prizes, including the best slam (the biggest fall). They even took to the streets for a mad dash through Bangalore’s chaotic traffic. It all felt like a coming-out party, a clear signal that after 10 years of brewing on the sidelines, the Indian skateboarding scene had finally arrived.

Today, we have 11 skate parks or ramps spread across eight cities, with four built just this year. Earlier in January, India had its first ever skate competition – the Third Eye Skate Tour – and is now becoming a regular stop for international pro-skaters. The numbers are still small, but there’s already a distinct sub-culture rising – with its own slang, style and a strong sense of community that transcends social and economic barriers. In Bangalore, for example, thirty-something IT professionals skate and hang out with much younger street kids who seem right at home with an “alien” culture. And it’s not just about the stickers on your board or the skate company logo on your T-shirt. It’s also about inspiring a rule-breaking, risk-taking spirit, about playing with laws of physics and society alike.

Much of the credit for the rise of the scene goes to Bangalore-based Holystoked Collective, a group that builds free skate parks, conducts workshops and supports young skaters across the country. I spoke to Holystoked co-founder Abhishek, who recently returned from Vishakapatnam after building yet another skate ramp.

What is it about skateboarding that appeals to you?
It’s never just about the act of skateboarding. Mostly it’s about the sense of community, having something to do together. If I meet someone with a board, no matter how different they are from me, we’re automatically connected.

Which skaters inspire you?
This skate crew from Germany called 2er (pronounced Zwyer). They came down and visited us a few years ago, and they’ve pretty much informed and supported all the stuff we do at the Collective, in terms of building parks and spreading the stoke. They’ve even inspired the way I skate.

Has any specifically Indian slang evolved in the sport?
The language is pretty global: a kickflip is a kickflip anywhere in the world. So while everyone’s picked up those terms – even the kids from the slums here, who love saying gnarly – they’re also coming up with their own slang. For example, a 360-degree flip is called a Bombay flip because everyone in the Bombay scene, regardless of their other skills, knows how to do this one trick.

What’s your favourite trick?
Right now it would be the Frontside Hurricane (you zip straight up a ramp and then slide your board across the edge before coming down). It’s a pretty cool trick. These days I’m trying to master real airs on ramps and bowls.

Ramps in India

Play Arena, Bangalore
Officially the first public skate park in India, this one has a 10ft bowl, a 30ft run and is littered with boxes, spines, ramps, half pipes and quarter pipes to practise your tricks.Rs 300 on weekends, Rs 1,500 for a monthly pass

Freemotion Sk8 Park, New Delhi

Built in a basement in Freedom Fighters Colony, Neb Sarai, this is a small but expertly crafted space with ramps, pillars and graffiti to boot. They also sell boards, stickers and apparel.Rs 200 for a day, Rs 1,000 for a monthly pass

Cirrus at Anjuna, Goa

They’re cagey about giving you their exact location, so finding this “underground art & music” space might be difficult. But once there, you’ll have a rollicking time, skating and rolling around to the tune of alternative, indie music.Free